The 15 Best Disney Channel Movies

There are over 100 different Disney Channel Original movies streaming on Disney Plus. Here are 15 of the BEST Disney Channel movies available!

I loved Disney Channel Movies growing up! I used to set the VCR to record my favorites. That way I could watch them whenever I wanted.

Now, with Disney Plus, I can stream all of my favorite Disney Channel movies. It’s like a dream come true!

Disney Plus also has a wide range of shows for adults. Check out the best shows on Disney Plus for adults.

Disney Plus has over 100 Disney Channel Original movies to choose from. I narrowed this list down to the best 15. These Disney Channel Original Movies, aka DCOMs, have the best stories, music, and characters.

The 15 Best Disney Channel Movies

Best Disney Channel Musicals

High School Musical (2006) – Troy and Gabriela meet by chance singing karaoke on vacation with their families for winter break. Their paths cross again when Gabriela transfers to Troy’s school. They disrupt the school’s social cliques by auditioning for the school musical together.

I love High School Musical. The songs, the dance routines, Zac Efron. What’s not to love?! Directed by the legendary Kenny Ortega, aka the man responsible for films like Hocus Pocus and The Newsies.

Descendants (2015) – The kids of some of the most notorious Disney villains, like Maleficent, Jafar, and the Evil Queen live in exile with their parents on the Isle of the Lost. The future king of Auradon, son of Belle and the Beast, invites them to attend school with the kids of the “heroes.” Will they use the time at school to destroy Auradon, or to turn a new leaf?

The Cheetah Girls (2003) – Four teen friends, Galleria, Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda, join together to form a musical group to perform at a school talent show. A famous producer discovers them, but he wants to change everything about the group. The pressures of chasing fame challenge the girls and their friendship.

Best Disney Channel Sports Movies

The Luck of the Irish (2001) – Teenage basketball player Kyle Johnson is extremely lucky. He’s popular, talented, and skates through life. When his lucky charm goes missing, he starts to shrink and his hair turns red. He needs to get back his family’s luck or be a leprechaun forever.

Johnny Tsunami (1999) – Johnny Kapahala is a young surfer growing up in Hawaii. His life is turned upside down when his dad’s job relocates his family to Vermont. Johnny struggles to fit in and make friends in Vermont until he meets a snowboarder named Sam. They become fast friends and Johnny channels his love of surfing into learning to snowboard.

Brink (1998) – Soul-skater Andy Brinker “Brink” and his friends skate for the love of skating and can’t stand sponsored skaters. That is until Brink’s family runs into financial troubles. He joins a sponsored team to help his family but at the expense of losing the respect of his friends. He’s then faced with choosing his friends versus the sponsor team that’s helping his family make ends meet.

DCOMs Based on True Events

Gotta Kick It Up (2002) – This DCOM follows a school dance team, from a mostly Latin-American school. The dance coach has a fairly old-fashioned style when it comes to dancing. But the students want to incorporate more of their Latina heritage into their choreography.

The two sides have to find a way to mesh the two together in order to win their dance competitions. This movie was actually one of the earliest works of actress America Ferrara.

The Color of Friendship (2000) – This movie is one of the most impactful Disney Channel movies that I’ve ever seen. It is based on the actual events of a friendship between Mahree and Piper. The events of the film take place in 1977, while South Africa was protesting the apartheid system and the oppression of black South Africans.

Piper, the daughter of a black Congressman, is very excited for her family to host a South African exchange student. Her family openly opposes apartheid and fights for racial equality. Mahree is a wealthy white South African girl whose family benefits from the apartheid system. She is ignorant of the oppression black South Africans face.

Neither of the girls is prepared for the shock of meeting each other. Or the friendship that grows between them.

Double Teamed (2002) – This DCOM is actually based on the true story of Heidi and Heather Burge and their rise to WNBA stardom. Heidi and Heather are twin volleyball athletes. They move to a new school to pursue volleyball scholarships but end up recruited to play basketball. They develop into excellent basketball players but must decide if basketball is the right path for both of them.

The Most Iconic Disney Channel Movies

Zenon (1999) – Zenon is a regular teen girl that’s into fashion and pop stars. The only catch is that she lives on a space station. She constantly gets into trouble and ends up grounded. Literally. Her parents send her back to Earth. And the adventures definitely don’t end there.

Halloweentown (1998) – A young girl named Marnie discovers that she is a descendent from a long line of witches. Her estranged grandmother comes to town and needs her to help save her world, Halloweentown. It’s a magical place, full of fantastical creatures and beings, but those beings are starting to disappear. Marnie and her siblings, need to solve the mystery and save Halloweentown.

Smart House (1999) – Ben Cooper wins a fully-automated “smart” house in a contest. Life is a dream until he programs the house to act as a surrogate mother. The computer controlling the house is unable to function with its new programming and things take a wild turn.

DCOMs Starring Celebrities

Tru Confessions (2002) – Tru Walker is an aspiring filmmaker that enters a local filmmaking contest. She decides to create a film about her mentally disabled twin brother Eddie, played by Shia LaBeouf. As the contest approaches Tru is nervous about how audiences will react to her very personal story.

This movie is easily one of the most moving Disney Channel movies. Shia LaBeouf gives an amazing performance as Eddie.

Cadet Kelly (2002) – Free-spirited teenager Kelly Collins is in for the shock of her life. Her new stepfather takes a job as the head of a military academy and enrolls her. Kelly struggles with the strict rules and the constant abuse of her commanding officer. However, her crush on the captain of the drill team gives her motivation to join the team and excel at it.

This movie stars two early 2000’s Disney legends, Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano. Their chemistry as rivals is impeccable.

Get A Clue (2002) – What happens when you combine Lindsay Lohan, Brenda Song, and Bug Hall (aka Alfalfa) into a high school mystery movie on Disney Channel? You get Get A Clue.

Lohan plays Lexy Gold, a wealthy prep school student that lives on the Upper Side of New York. Lexy writes the school gossip column but fancies herself an investigative journalist. When a picture she publishes results in the disappearance of one of her teachers, she and her friends set out to investigate.

What Disney Channel movie is your favorite?